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Carnot Cycle
An ideal cycle would be performed by a perfectly efficient heat enginethat is, all the heat would be converted to mechanical work. A 19th-century French scientist named Nicolas Carnot conceived a thermodynamic cycle that is the basic cycle of all heat engines. He showed that such an ideal engine cannot exist. Any heat engine must expend some fraction of its heat input as exhaust. The second law of thermodynamics places an upper limit on the efficiency of engines; that upper limit is less than 100 percent. The limiting case is now known as a Carnot cycle.
The Carnot Cycle
(1) Isothermal expansion of gas in cylinder as heat is added from source. Piston moves from V1 to V2, doing work on the system.
(2) Heat source is removed and isolated. Adiabatic expansion continues until volume V3 is reached, performing additional work, at temperature T2.
(4) Heat source is removed and isolated. Adiabatic compression continues until volume V4 is reached, performing additional work, at temperature T2.
(3) Isothermal compression of gas in cylinder as work is done by the system on the piston.Heat is be transferred to T2.
Isothermal: Process in which no temperature change occurs in a closed system.
Adiabatic: Process in which no heat is transferred into or out of a closed system.
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RF Cafe Erie, PA (814) 833-1967
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